Magic Millions race day sensationally called off with $10 million in prizemoney still to run
The Magic Millions meeting on the Gold Coast has been sensationally postponed before the running of the feature races.
Unforecasted rain on Friday night and Saturday morning saw the tracked graded a Heavy 9 on race morning, however that was downgraded again to a Heavy 10 after one race. Only 13mm of rain had fallen on since 3am at the track, according to the Gold Coast Turf Club.
Jockeys were concerned about a part of the track between the 500m and the 300m as well as visibility issues with persistent rain. While jockeys initially opted to forge ahead for race two following a lengthy delay, the decision was eventually made to abandon the race day shortly before 2:30pm AEDT.
James McDonald’s mount Desperately slipped in race two but was uninjured.
$10 million in prize money was still up for grabs in the remaining eight races that were postponed.
It's undertstood the remaining races will now be run on Thursday, January 19.